A Storm Brewing
A Rookie's Debut The beautiful morning sun shined brightly across the vast seas of the South Blue as a small boat was seen drifting across the ocean towards a nearby island. Standing on the boat with an excited look on his face was a blonde haired young man wearing a head band and outfitted in a loose silver jacket with a swirl on the back as he whistled when he spotted the approaching island. "Looks like I've finally arrived" He grinned before gripping his fists tighter with an excited glint in his cerulean eyes. His name was Gale D. Joseph, though most people just called him Joey, and he had finally begun his life as a free pirate after setting out on his journey from his hometown, Loom Village that was located on Rize Island. It was something he had dreamed about since he was just a child and after hearing the stories about Monkey D. Luffy, the Pirate King; Joey knew he that the life of a pirate was for him. So here he was, aiming to challenge the Grand Line and in order to get started, Joey needed two very important things; a crew and a ship. The first one would be simple since there was no shortage of people wanting to become pirates across the world but the second one would be a bit trickier as he wasn't a shipwright nor did he possess much wealth at all to purchase his own ship. "Guess I'll save the ship for a bit later. Right now, I should focus on finding some crew mates" He assured as his boat finally reached the dock of the island. Jumping off the boat, Joey tied a rope to a ground pole and secured it tightly before grabbing his bag full of belongings and began walking towards the source of civilization on the rather small island. ---- "Doro Island. That's the name of the island your on right now. It's a rather small island compared to the other nearby ones and there aren't many attractions here so we don't get many tourists" Those words came from a rough looking middle aged man who was cleaning a cup behind a bar table as Joey listened to his explanation from his seat in front of the bar. He arrived in this town shortly after docking on the island and sought out a bar to gather information regarding what was on this island and also if anyone powerful or skilled was here that would be interested in joining him. The bar's name was the "Drunk Owl" and it got its name for its rather track record of plastering its customers with the finest alcohol on the island. There were numerous people spread out across the bar either drinking at their own tables or chatting each other up on the wall's as Joey took a brief glance around them, ignoring the flirtatious looks coming from a group of women sitting near the back table as he looked forward and eyed the bartender. "You're new around here right? Where you from kid?" The bartender said as he gently placed the cup on a shelf and picked up another one. Joey's eyebrows twitched in annoyance at how he was being referred to as "I'm not a kid" The bartender chuckled "You look like one to me, so that's what I'll call you" "Oh yeah?" Joey frowned but then smiled. Now this guy had done it "Pass me your strongest drink and I'll show why I'm not a kid" The bartender snorted in amusement before he grabbed one of the cups and placed it under a barrel, opening the valve and filling it up with a purple liquid. He then placed the cup on the table and slid it over to Joey who grabbed it with a determined look on his face. "It's on the house. Let's see you back up your tough talk kid" The bartender teased as Joey had heard enough and without a moment's hesitation, downed the drink in one gulp as the bartender whistled in surprise and a few cheers were heard around the room. "Baaaah!" Joey slammed the drink back onto the table and flashed a cocky grin towards the bartender. "Piece of cake" The bartender inclined his head in approval, throwing his hands into the air as a sign of defeat. "My bad, guess you're not a kid after all. I've seen men twice your age unable to handle a shot of that stuff" He complimented before picking the glass up and refilling it. He tossed it back to the young man and crossed his arms. "You got a name then, man?" He teased. "It's Joseph, asshole" He downed the second drink as easily as the first and wiped the liquid from his mouth with his sleeve. "Gale D. Joseph. Call me Joey. I'm a pirate and I'm looking to gather a crew and a ship and sail for the Grand Line" "Oh really now?" The bartender didn't bother to hide his surprise as he examined the blonde haired youth from top to bottom. Striking yellow hair, a face woman would swoon over, good lean physique, and the disposition of a confident if not irritable leader. "Strange. I definitely would have heard of a pirate with such a striking appearance. You must be a rookie then, no?" Joey nodded. "Just set out a few weeks ago from my hometown and this is the first island I've reached" "I see. You said your looking for crew mates on this island right? The only people you'll find on here willing to join a pirate crew are bandits and thieves, along with some mercenaries who hang around these parts" Joey didn't seem pleased by that as he frowned. "Well that's a bummer. I'm looking for individuals who catch my eye and stand out, y'know? I'd rather have ten amazing people than a hundred average Joes. Tell me, is there anyone on this island you'd consider special or that possess weird abilities?" The bartender raised an eyebrow at Joey's question. "Weird abilities? Are you perhaps referring to those who have gained powers by eating a devil fruit?" "Bingo" Joey winked as he shifted himself in his seat, hopeful that the bartender could aid in his search. Instead, he was waived off by the bartender who looked incredulous towards Joey's question. "Don't be crazy, there aren't any people like that around these parts. Do you know how rare it is to find people with those demonic powers in the South Blue? Sorry kid, your out of luck if-wait, actually there is someone but..." The bartender stopped his words short with a conflicted expression on his face, causing Joey to look at him quizzically. "What's wrong?" Realizing his mistake, the bartender shook his head. "Forget about it" He began as he started cleaning another cup on the top shelf "If you're looking for special individuals, there's someone on this island who might catch your eye but the chances he'd join you as a pirate are slim to none" Now Joey was interested and he immediately sat back down. "Go on" The bartender looked over his shoulder, a bit puzzled on the forwardness of this young man but shrugged nonetheless and carried on. "You wouldn't know about him since you just arrived but there's a thief on this island who will appear from time to time and steal whatever he can get his hands on. He'll show up and cause a huge panic with his strange powers, on top of his ridiculous physical strength" Joey's eyes lit up with excitement before confusion arose in his mind "Doesn't this island have marines? What are they doing?" "Ha!" The bartender laughed out loud "They're no match for him. We're just a small island in the South Blue that have no ties with the World Government. There's no way they'd send any important or powerful figures here. As a result, there's no one on this island that can stand up to the Bloody Wolf" "Bloody Wolf? That can't seriously be his name" "It's not. No one knows his real name so those on the island refer to him as that because the Marines gave him that name after their latest scuffle with him" "I see..." Joey said, contemplating the man's words in his mind with a serious look. If he were being honest, this Bloody Wolf sounded quite promising, especially if he was already an enemy of the Marines. That was a basic requirement for being a Pirate so at least he didn't have to worry about that. With his interest aroused, Joey then asked the obvious question. "Where can I find him?" The bartender stopped what he was doing and gave Joey a stupefied look at what he had just said. Before he could answer Joey's question however, a rather tall and well built man slammed his arm on the bar table right next to Joey and glared at him. "Why the fuck does a pipsqueak like you want to know where that monster is?" Joey briefly glanced at him from the corner of his eyes; he was rather ugly with tattoo's all over his body and reeked of alcohol and bad life decisions. This wasn't even mentioning the man's putrid breath that smelled like rotten fish. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business. I was talking to the bartender, not your ugly ass” “...Say what?” The man’s mood dropped instantly at the insult and a few men in the back had even stood up when they heard that comment. Joey noticed this and smirkedi inwardly, finding it rather hilarious that these guys were so sensitive to just some friendly trash talk. “Now I’m not sure y’know this kid, but I run this side of town and if you know what’s good for ya, you’ll watch your fucking mouth when you talk to me, unless you want me to ruin that pretty face of yours” The man smirked as he pulled out a dagger from his pocket and locked the edge. “Uh huh…” Joey deadpanned, turning his eyes to the sighing bartender. Clearly, this was an everyday occurence for him as he didn’t even seem worried or surprised. “Look, the kid didn’t mean anything by it Garlo. I’m sure that- “Shut it, Vic” The burly man called Garlo snapped at the bartender who attempted to difuse the situation. “I got no beef with you and i’d to keep it that way” The bartender frowned. “If you cause a ruckus here, the Marines will be on your ass and you won’t get the chance to relax after your latest voyage. Do you really want that?” Garlo held his tongue as he realized that Vic was right and contemplated just letting the kid off with a scare until he heard what he said next. “Aww, is the big bad thug gonna run away just because of some Marines? Guess your balls are as empty as your head” There was dead silence in the bar as all sets of eyes turned towards Joey who remained in his seat with a mocking glance as Vic dropped the glass he was holding as his mouth hung wide open. “Is this kid brain dead!? And after I just got him off the hook!” Vic the bartender wanted to face palm but he far too busy racing his mind on trying to figure out how to save his this poor boy from certain death. He had no idea how strong this kid was but trying to mess with a pirate who had a 8,000,000 bounty on his head while still being a rookie was far from a wise decision. Garlo’s eyebrows twitched rather viciously and several veins appeared on his forehead, his teeth seething in anger at having been insulted by the pretty boy. If there was any mercy he was going to show him prior to him saying those words, there definitely wasn’t now and he gave his boys a nod before they all approached the still sitting Joey. “You’ve got quite the mouth on you kid and to appreciate that, I’ll have my boys here rip it off your mouth and save it as a souvenir” He chuckled before snapping his fingers, causing his men to rush at Joey whose smile vanished as he stood up from his seat. “It’s too late to run now kid” Garlo laughed and just as everyone thought the kid was doomed, the bodies of Garlo’s thugs were all sent flying in different directions as a powerful gust of wind had exploded from where they stood. “W-What the hell!?” Garlo froze as he glanced everywhere and saw his thugs sprawled out across the bar, some of them even having been sent through walls and immediately turned back to see Joey still standing without a scratch. “You bastard..…” Garlo growled under his breath, realizing that the weak pretty boy he believed to be out of his league was actually hiding such frightening strength. “Your next” Joey stated and in a flash, he disappeared and reappeared right below Garlo’s stomach as the older man had no time to react or dodge the punch that Joey delivered to his abdomen. It was a crushing blow that broke several of Garlo’s ribs as the man’s eye’s rolled up and he faded into unconsciousness, his body dropping onto his knees then onto the ground moments later as the bar went quiet. “All that big talk and yet here you are lying flat on your face after a single punch. What a joke” Joey sneered as he bent down and ripped off a small bag that was attached to Garlo’s waist and jiggled it around, the sounds of coins ringing out. After taking some for himself, Joey tossed the bag to the stupified bartender who barely caught it in time and smiled at him. “Sorry about the damage. I hope that’s enough to cover the mess I made” “D-Don’t… worry about it” The bartender was still in shock that the mighty Garlo who everyone feared on this island had just been defeated so effortlessly and he ingraived the name and face of the young man before him into his brain. He was certain that this young man was destined to make a name for himself in the future; no doubt about it. “Thanks. Now then” Joey then sat back down in his seat and placed both his elbows on the table to focus on what the bartender had to say. “Where can I find that Bloody Wolf guy?” Category:Solo Role-plays Category:CoolBlackZ